What is the history of Gore-Tex and its environmental impact?

Question

Gore-Tex was developed in the late 1950s when it was first invented by the company Gore & Associates. It became famous in the 1970s when it was launched as a fabric made waterproof by expanding polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The compound is what we refer to as a fluoropolymer and is known for being stiff, heat resistant, creating a strong bond, and having a wide temperature range even above normal plastic's capabilities. There has been some concern about fluoropolymer’s resistance to environmental degradation. There has been evidence showing some fluoropolymers were found in the ocean as well as sand in remote DNS such as the Antarctic and Iceland’s beaches. The direct negative environmental impact coexists with pragmatic GW-use ability throughout the entire process of fiber or material manufacturing where coatings/similar TF material may have already been discharged.

Answer 1

Bob Gore was the first to make use of Gore-Tex in 1969. He had been involved in research with poly fluoro chemicals, specifically Teflon at DuPont. Such chemicals are otherwise popularly coined as ‘forever chemicals’ and have adverse impacts on the ecosystem and human immunity alike. DuPont faced litigation for concealing the adverse impacts of such chemicals. A combination of these features form Gore-Tex which consists of a fine membrane manufactured by the thermal and mechanical extension of polymers and is resistant to water, but does permit the passage of vapour. Nevertheless, the outer most layer of the Gore-Tex products is coated with more fluorinated polymers for water repellency which will fail over time and cause pollution.

Comments

One thing with the PTFE toxicity: Short perfluorinated chains are troublesome, but the truly long ones (i.e. PTFE coatings on cooking or chemical gear) are so stable (including thermostability), that as long as they don't come into contact with reactive or sharp metal, they are very safe.
And while the membranes are generally made with the "safe enough" molecules, the overcoating is decidedly not.

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one thing to also note when people say "my gore-tex never let me down". The current gore-tex membrane aren't as resilient anymore as the old ones, because environmental regulation doesn't let them use the longest polymers anymore

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I bought my last gore tex jacket 12 or so years ago. After learning about forever chemicals I switched to oil skin and did not regret it. Works well enough for light and medium rain. For really heavy rain I use rubberized garments.

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Your explanation and illustration of the physics is spot on. One update: GoreTex has switched to a polyethylene barrier layer, removing the Teflon. Unfortunately, they can't change how water vapor works.